The place has been ransacked - furniture overturned, drawerspulled out and the contents strewn all over the floor, theworks.

Amidst these ruins lies a photo still half in its shatteredframe: a couple smiling widely for the camera, happy andcarefree.

CUT TO:

INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT.

CASEY, 33, the woman in the photograph, is pacing the lengthof the room. She is clutching a cellphone which she checkscompulsively as she strides up and down, up and down.

CASEY(mutters)

Fuck’s sake, Duke, where are you?

CUT TO:

INT. HOTEL ROOM - LATER.

DUKE, late thirties, the other half of the couple in thepicture, has arrived.

CASEY

What the fuck took you so long!?

DUKE

Sorry, baby, I had to get somestuff together and -

CASEY

- ’some stuff’? Duke, theseguys...we don’t have time to befucking around with ’stuff’!

DUKE

I KNOW! But we can’t just...justleave with the clothes on ourbacks, can we? We won’t get fivemiles outside the city without money!

2.

He pulls a pack of Marlboro’s out of his coat pocket alongwith a lighter, and tries to light one of the cigarettes buthis hands are shaking too badly.

Casey, relenting, plucks the lighter out of his hand andlights the Marlboro dangling from between his lips.

Duke takes a grateful drag and exhales. That’s better.

DUKE(contrite)

Thanks.

She smiles, although rather tremulously. They are stillscared shitless.

DUKE

Hey, it’s gonna be okay, Casey. Ipromise.

In response, Casey takes Dukes hand and leads him to thebed. He sinks down to sit on the edge. Casey remainsstanding.

She draws him into a hug.

Her smile hardens.

We hear a MUTED GUNSHOT.

CUT TO:

EXT. SIDEWALK - DAY.

Police cars are parked outside the hotel. A few news crewsare also in attendance, along with the typical crowd of nosyonlookers - the sort of people who react to a grisly murderscene with jaded indifference.

Casey strolls past this circus without so much as a glance.Her phone BLEEPS. She takes it out of her bag and reads thetext message: $15’000.

Satisfied, she puts the phone back into her bag and meltsinto the city crowds.